Synaesthesia

The Strangest Thing

John Harrison

Synaesthesia

The Strangest Thing

John Harrison

Description

Synaesthesia is a confusion of the senses, whereby stimulation of one sense triggers stimulation in a completely different sensory modality. A synaesthete might claim to be able to hear colors, taste shapes, describe the color, shape, and flavor of someone's voice or music, the sound of which looks like 'shards of glass'. Throughout history, many notable artists and writers have claimed to suffer from synaesthesia, including, Arthur Rimbaud, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Nabokov, and David Hockney. The condition remains as controversial now as when first brought to the public eye many years ago--one notable scientist dismissing it as mere 'romantic neurology.' In Synaesthesia: the strangest thing, a world authority on synaesthesia takes us on a fascinating tour of
this mysterious condition, looking at historical incidences of synaesthesia, unraveling the theories for the condition, and additionally, examining the claims to synaesthesia of the likes of Rimbaud, Baudelaire, and others. The result is an exciting, yet scientific account of an incredible condition--one that will tell us of a world rich with the most unbelievable sensory experiences.

Synaesthesia

The Strangest Thing

John Harrison

Table of Contents

ForewordAcknowledgements1. Confessions of a physicalist2. Renaissance3. Synaesthete extraordinaire4. The closet door opens5. When is synaesthesia not synaesthesia? When it's a metaphor6. Through a cloudy lens7. It can't be genetic, can it?8. Pathology and theory9. From romantic neurology to the ISAGlossaryFurther readingIndex

Synaesthesia

The Strangest Thing

John Harrison

Author Information

John Harrison has held research posts at the University of London and the University of Cambridge. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 scientific articles, and is the editor, with Simon Baron-Cohen, of 'Synaesthesia: Classic and contemporary readings', and most recently 'Cognitive dysfunction in brain disorders'.

Synaesthesia

The Strangest Thing

John Harrison

Reviews and Awards

"A new look at the strange world of synaesthesia."--Time Magazine

"A treat.... investigates...brains that have a weird and unexplained propensity to mix up senses." New Scientist

"[P]rovides a useful account of a phenomenon that in recent years has come to receive increasing serious attention from cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists alike. Harrison presents the material in a way that makes it accessible to novices as well as experts."--Contemporary Psychology, APA Review of Books